OPPORTUNITY TO PROMOTE VIETNAMESE BRANDS IN AUSTRALIA

The value of Vietnam's national brand has been continuously enhanced in recent years. In your opinion, how is Vietnamese brand evaluated in the Australian market?

Vietnam and Australia have cooperated in many fields, from politics, economics, defence, security to climate and education. Australia and Vietnam are two highly complementary economies. Australian consumers favour Vietnam's high-quality products, while Australia is a reliable supplier of services and raw materials to Vietnam.

Vietnam's exports and investments in Australia have grown significantly in the past few years. Australia is Vietnam's leading shrimp and seafood import market. Vietnam has become Australia's sixth-largest agricultural, forestry and fishery import market. 

Demand for Vietnamese fruits in Australia continues to increase. Australian consumers are enjoying more and more longan, lychee, dragon fruit and mango, as well as many other high-quality Vietnamese fruits. Vietnamese textiles, garments and footwear are also highly appreciated in Australia. Vietnam's exports are not only important inputs for economic activity in Australia but also help Australia's finished products enhance their competitiveness. 

As affirmed in Australia's new announcement, the Vietnam - Australia Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES) and Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, the two countries have great potential to bring trade and investing further, including promoting Vietnamese brands.

Could you share your message with the Vietnamese business community about investment opportunities in Australia?

Australia and Vietnam have an extensive and long-term investment relationship. Recent investments in Australia from leading Vietnamese companies, such as TH Group, TTC AgriS and Vitadairy, demonstrate opportunities which Australia offers to Vietnamese investors, as well as the potential for additional and diversifying the supply chain between the two sides. Australian companies have also invested in Vietnam since the early 90s of the last century, contributing to economic and infrastructure development in Vietnam. 

The Australia–Viet Nam Investment Forum 2023 took place in Ho Chi Minh City on September 8, attracting more than 200 businesses to attend. The event has provided a source of information about Australia's investment environment and investment opportunities in key fields. I encourage Vietnamese investors who want to increase and diversify their business activities into new markets to consider Australia as a destination. The Australian economy is based on solid fundamentals. 

An open and responsive regulatory environment makes Australia a business-friendly country. Australia is an open economy with many free trade agreements (FTAs) with Asian countries. On that basis, Australian and Vietnamese businesses have many opportunities to cooperate to help both sides develop and expand in the region.

Strengthening trade and investment cooperation is a common priority as Vietnam and Australia celebrated their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 5th anniversary of strategic partnership in 2023. In your opinion, what role do both country’s businesses play in promoting the implementation of the Vietnam-Australia Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES)?

The trade and investment relationship between the two countries is growing positively, driven by the common goal of making Australia and Vietnam the top ten trade partners and double bilateral investment. Every Australian and Vietnamese business contributes to developing economic relations between the two countries.  The EEES outlines measures to help the two sides connect businesses to optimise opportunities for trade cooperation, investment and comprehensive development.

To enhance bilateral trade and investment, many practical initiatives have been launched, such as raising awareness of each other's markets, adjusting legal and investment frameworks, and improving the business environment, focusing on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as women-led and women-owned businesses.

Businesses and industries play an important role in bringing economic relations between the two countries to a new height. Their role is also highlighted in Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. 

Thank you very much!

OPENING UP MANY NEW AREAS IN TRADE RELATIONS

In 2022, the two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and India recorded 15 billion USD, which Vietnam's exports to India reached nearly 8 billion USD, and its imports from India were 7.09 billion USD.

The structure of goods traded between the two countries shows that there is still much room for long-term growth in both economies, especially when these products’ value can continue to be increased for export to the world.

Vietnam's key export items to India include mobile phones and accessories, computers and electronic equipment, metals, chemicals, and footwear, with India as Vietnam’s leading provider of agricultural products, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, jewellery, fibres and fabrics, and metals.

India’s total investment in Vietnam is about 2 billion USD, showing the deep integration and significant contributions to the Vietnamese economy, through the creation of stable value, jobs and sustainable production. In the context of Vietnam’s rapid economic growth and various investment opportunities in the fields of energy, infrastructure, electronics, digital technology, and logistics, many large Indian corporations in the areas of power, urban infrastructure construction, pharmaceuticals, information technology, waste treatment and mineral processing are actively seeking business opportunities in Vietnam.

Tourism is also considered an important economic bridge between India and Vietnam, with about 50 direct flights per week while Indian tourists are among the top 10 largest sources of tourists to Vietnam. Vietnamese travel companies are focusing on increasing their presence in India and proactively searching for new promising tourist destinations in the South Asian country.

According to Ambassador Sandeep Arya, the efforts of both sides to expand tourism and aviation networks will contribute to promoting bilateral connectivity and commerce in the future.

Support services such as banking mechanisms, logistics, transportation, electronic data exchange between agencies, and trade facilitation should be considered a focus. In the future, bilateral real-time digital payment transactions or trade agreements in national currencies will facilitate and create additional foundations for business, trade and travel between the two countries. In particular, the Ambassador emphasised that direct shipping services between ports in India and Vietnam are being considered to be connected to help reduce time and trade costs for exporters and importers of both sides.

Vietnam and India are actively cooperating, especially in government-to-government dialogue, the exchange of business delegations, the promotion of trade initiatives, and the organisation of product exhibitions.

India is also interested in promoting provincial-level exchanges to promote broader trade and other economic links and expects that expanded trade incentives between the two countries will further create opportunities for many new areas in trade relations between the two sides.

COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION
FOR NATIONAL BRAND

Possessing a favourable geographical location and abundant labour force, while actively implementing preferential policies to develop industry and high technology, Vietnam has achieved sustainable economic growth with high political and social stability.

Thanks to a series of free trade agreements signed with partners, Vietnam has a high level of integration into the global value chain. As one of the countries with the fastest-growing digital economy in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has reaped many notable development achievements in recent times.

To build and develop the national brand, the "S-shaped strip of land" has also implemented comprehensive solutions, including the "Make in Vietnam" strategy, affirming its determination to develop a technology-based economy, digital technology, and information technology. This decision has helped the number of businesses operating in the field of digital technology grow impressively.

We want to share the story of the strongly growing national brand "Made in Russia". Besides famous names, such as KAMAZ, Rosatom, Yandex and Kaspersky, Russia is urgently promoting a national brand associated with great potential in industry science and technology.

Russia has accomplished many achievements in building a national brand in the field of information technology and communications, notably the quality of engineer training. Many solutions built by Russian information technology engineers are welcomed in Asia and Latin America.

In the 21st century, the digitalisation of the economy is decisive in competition, helping to significantly reduce transaction costs and speed up many important processes. The Vietnamese government is actively promoting the digital economy, with the goal of the digital economy accounting for 30% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030.

The potential for cooperation between Russia and Vietnam is huge, especially in the field of information and communications technology. Russian businesses are ready to cooperate flexibly, sharing with Vietnamese partners the best technologies in the fields of industry, administration and information security, as well as other special fields.

Russia and Vietnam have successfully accumulated a lot of experience in effective cooperation in many fields, such as politics, economics, finance, science, education, culture and sports. The fields of digital technology and telecommunications have also made many strides in cooperation recently. The two countries have signed several intergovernmental documents and organised bilateral events on the topic of smart city development and e-government. In the coming time, it would be nice if the two sides continue to strengthen cooperation in the field of technology.

The door of the Russian Trade Office in Vietnam is always open, not only for Vietnamese businesses interested in learning about advanced Russian technologies and their application in Vietnam but also for Russian IT businesses that want to explore opportunities in the Vietnamese market.